Spaniel Training Books

One week after buying our first bitch, a badly undershot Jack Russell Terrier, my wife took me out and came back with the first springer we owned. Without some of these books, I think I would have been put off of dogs for life. As it was, 'Bonnie' was absolutely full out from the moment we brought her home, and even with the book sometimes presented challenges.

I was fortunate in having some friends at the time who trained at the Bristol And West Gundog Training Club, who could show me what to aim for and how to go about it. We had some good times, especially in the gundog tests that were organised several times a year. These tests were fun to take part in, and gave us an introduction to what it must be like to perform in a field trial.

To give structure to the training I was doing, I was fortunate to find Joe Irving's "Training Spaniels". This was the first of Joe's three training books, and it was a great help between club sessions, where it would give me a training plan to stick to.

Other books that I obtained and learned from were older, and are certainly out of print now. Much of the information in them was timeless, and the anecdotes were fascinating. Once I get a few minutes I will review a few of them, in case you can pick them up in a second hand store.

Training Spaniels by Joe Irving

A classic spaniel training book by an author who believes in the carrot rather than the stick.

One of my all time favourites, this is an ideal text for the first time spaniel owner. Whether or not you intend working your spaniel, training him as a gundog is an intelligent thing to do, because they can be headstrong and without the obedience that comes from being used as a gundog you may wish you had never heard of spaniels, let alone bought one...